Arsel Al-Amal (Send Hope) Initiative Continues to Provide School Meals to the Deprived Students in the Middle East

Pizza Hut in Qatar inaugurated “Send Hope” initiative supported by QC to provide school meals to the deprived students in the Middle East by supporting school nutrition projects of the UN’s World Food Programme.

This initiative allows Pizza Hut’s costumers, in all of its branches, in Qatar to donate to ‘School Meals’ project the amount they want. The donation is added to the costumers’ bills. With each Qatari Riyal given, a child will receive a meal at school. These children will have a better future to aspire for.  

Last May, QC and WFP signed an agreement in WFP’s headquarter in Rome, Italy, to fight hunger and malnutrition, and to bolster food security worldwide. This strategic cooperation will strengthen the private sector’s role in the battle against these life-threatening challenges which threaten the lives of millions of people whether in the times of peace or conflict. These challenges also hinder the developmental efforts exerted in many countries.

Abdullah Al-Wardat, WFP’s representative and the Gulf’s Office Director, said, “We sincerely thank Pizza Hut for this great initiative which supports the Programme’s efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition by providing students with school meals in the Middle East. Our strategic cooperation with QC offers a chance to the Qatari private sector’s companies, which understand that fighting hunger and malnutrition is the primary element for their success and for the community’s stability. The companies also understand their moral duty towards the children and the country.”   

In a press release, Sterling Cos’ representative, Pizza Hut franchiser in Qatar, said, “It’s our pleasure to cooperate with QC to implement “Send Hope” initiative. We hope it would help support WFP’s efforts to give meals to more than 2,600,000 needy students in the Middle East. I hope this would bring hope to their hearts; I hope it makes their lives better. Education is essential to build a bright future, especially to those with a limited income.”

Mr. Jassim Al-Mansouri, QC’s Marketing Manager, expressed his gratitude to Pizza Hut for this initiative, and expressed his happiness with this cooperation to serve the school children.  He also showed his great trust in the companies of the private sector in Qatar and how sure he is that more companies will be involved in supporting such initiative. The private sector is known to be very generous and to have a sense of responsibility towards the needy communities around the world. Its efforts will stand as the practical application of the agreement which QC had signed with WFP. “Send Hope” is expected to be well received for its noble goals.

This cooperation between QC and WFP represents an opportunity for the private sector in Qatar to be more involved in supporting the fight against hunger by supporting QC’s and WFP’s campaigns for collecting financial and in-kind contributions according to the procedures of Human Appeal International. Companies are aware of the fact that by fighting hunger, ending malnutrition and bolstering food security, they can achieve success. They are also aware of the moral duty behind such battle.

The plan of QC's office in Bangladesh for the year 2015 includes  building 449 mosques and 22 centers for the memorization of the Quran at a cost of 25,928,395 QR from which 200,000 people are expected to benefit. Most of the work has been completed.

By the end of last October, QC had finished building 30 mosques and 3 centers for the memorization of the Quran. They were fully equipped and furnished. They had mattresses, carpets, speakers, fans, shelves for the Holy Quran and other religious books. It is expected that thousands of people will be benefiting from the project, especially those living in the villages and the countryside.

The mosques and centers are built according to excellent standards. They offer a comfortable atmosphere for students and the performers of prayer. They will be able to pray with complete serenity and devotion. They encourage learning and memorizing the Quran, and learning other Sharia sciences. The inhabitants will not have to fear the changing weather; neither the cold nor the heat.

In comparison to the mosques and centers the people of the countryside build, QC's mosques and centers are so much better. Because of their bad financial status, the inhabitants use bamboo sticks, wood, clay, and Zink  for building. Their financial resources are very little.

Built last October, these mosques and centers are considered to be part of the plan QC had set for the first 10 months of 2015 for Bangladesh. The plan included building 449 mosques and 22 centers for the memorization of the Quran at a cost of 25,928,395 QR from which 200,000 people are expected to benefit.

Dr. Mohammed Amin Hafith, QC's Office Director in Bangladesh, said that many of the projects were already entirely implemented, while the rest will be so during the coming two months of this year and the beginning of the next one.

"I thank the philanthropists and good doers from Qatar for their generous donations which contributed to the implementation of these projects. QC's projects have left a great impact on the lives of the people of Bangladesh. The projects seek to compensate for the shortages the people suffer from specially in the countryside," said he.

Furthermore, QC has recently implemented a number of projects in Bangladesh which provided public services, health, education, water, mosques and memorization centers. It is expected that 172,000 people will benefit from these projects which were implemented at a cost of around 4,600,000 QR. The supervisors anticipate that by the end of 2015, the work progress will have continued. The services these projects offer are going to be available. The people will be able to start memorizing the Quran, they will have clean drinking water and water for home use, and they will benefit from social care services. Plus, the orphans will have a place to live in, they will have food, will be educated, dressed, treated and trained.

It is worth mentioning that QC has recently built 72 mosques in different places in Bangladesh at a cost of around 4,000,000 QR from which 10,000 people benefited. Plus, next to each mosque, QC dug an Artesian well.

In addition, QC has organized a wedding ceremony for a group of couples in the hall of Al Banat (Girls) Center. 22 orphans benefited from this project; and it was out of their desire to 'complete the other half of their religion' (as marriage is considered to be so in Islam). After the ceremony was over, the beneficiaries received supplies for their houses.

QC's Office in Bangladesh

QC started its charity work in Bangladesh when it officially opened its office there in 1995. The quality and number of projects increased rapidly. They included developmental activities and fields such as education, health, water, sanitation, relief, skills improvement, social care, and others.

You can donate to support such projects through the link:  Click here

QC holds a health camp for its sponsored orphans in Pakistan. The camp provides medical examinations to check their well-being and activities to raise awareness about hygiene and environmental cleanliness.100 orphans benefited from the project.

The camp was organized by QC office in Islamabad, the capital,  in coordination with “Al-Islah Center” that takes in the orphans sponsored QC in Mardan City- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. The center is one of the 7 centers sponsored by QC in Pakistan to secure these orphans’ education, health, and behavior as well as to bring out and develop their talents and capabilities.

The medical examination was supervised by a medical team that consisted of 3 doctors (a pediatrician, a general physician, and an ENT specialist) and nurses. The team spent a whole day examining over 100 orphans for weight, blood pressure, respiration, sensitivity, and infectious and dermatologic diseases.The doctors also examined the orphans’ teeth, eyes, and joints and secured the necessary medications. The “Islah Center” was instructed to refer the ones with diseases that required external treatment to near dispensaries for follow-up.

Hygiene Bags

In addition to examination and treatment, the camp had activities for raising awareness. The doctors distributed leaflets that included general instructions about personal and general cleanliness within the shelter. They also stressed on the importance of taking maximum care of personal hygiene, using detergents, taking several showers every week, and exposing the mattresses to sufficient ventilation. The camp also distributed a hygiene bag to every orphan. Each bag contained soap bars, shampoo, a comb, a clipper, a towel, toothpaste, and a toothbrush.

At the end of the health camp, the director of “Al-Islah Orphans Center” thanked the administration of QC office in Pakistan and the administration of QC in the main office in Qatar for offering this medical examination to the sponsored orphans. He said that this came at the beginning of the winter which was usually accompanied by respiratory conditions. A few words were delivered to carry the sponsored orphans’ gratitude and prayers to their sponsors in Qatar.

It is worth mentioning that QC provides for 3,870 orphans in Pakistan and Kashmir, 1400 of which live in 7 shelters (internal departments) and 2,470 live with their own families.

This camp is one of a series of periodical educational, entertaining, and pedagogic activities that QC carries out for its sponsored orphans in the 7 shelters.

QC had previously organized an educational and entertainment day for 200 of its sponsored orphans in Dheerkot region in the province of Bagh – Kashmir State. Hygiene bags were distributed to them on the occasion of “Global Handwashing Day”. There were a number of chants, madihnabawi songs, and contests.

QC also held a big ceremony at the time of distributing sponsorship money from which 450 sponsored orphans in the capital of Kashmir, Muzaffarabad. The ceremony included various educational and entertainment activities and short plays that manifested the role of sponsors in raising the orphans and saving thousands of families. The roles were played by school children. In addition, different entertainment activities were held on the school yard by the orphans such as tug of war contests, colored balloons, a jump-rope game, and a musical chairs game.

It is worth mentioning that during the few first months of the current year, QC’s office in Pakistan built 18 mosques, dwelled 1,083 wells, and implemented 103 income-generating projects. It also built a multi-service compound, a shelter for the orphans, and a center for handicraft training.

You can donate to support such projects through the link: Click here